Interview with Julien

Interview with Julien (approx. 25 years old)

In France we went on a horseback riding vacation and at the place we stayed a nephew of the owner had his own vegetable garden. The garden was really big with a large greenhouse with loads of vegetable plants. It was really cool and he had some good tricks. Furthermore, he had almost the same problems as I have in my vegetable garden. He also had very clever and nice ways to grow certain vegetables, which inspired me to also make a small greenhouse and do the same things. It is not possible for me to do this for my personal project but I plan on doing this in the future.

Why do you think working in your vegetable garden is fun?

I really like nature and the vegetables I grow are good/fair vegetables with a better taste than in the supermarkets.

Do you think organic food has a better taste than food which has been produced with fertilizers and pesticides?

Yes, organic food is tastier than food which has been produced with fertilizers and pesticides. Also organic food is better for your health.

Do you think that producing your own food is better for your health?

Yes, producing your own food is better for your health but also better for the environment you produce in.

How do you best care for your vegetable garden?

On top of the soil I lay a layer of straw to release more carbon into the soil because carbon is good for the soil. The layer of straw keeps the soil moist as well.
The straw keeps the soil moist and because the soil is moist the worms stay in the upper soil layer. They keep moving automatically spading the ground and therefore I do not need to spit my garden.
I also do not weed as I let the weeds grow until they are big and I then pull them out and lay them back again. I lay them back for the pests to eat so they won’t eat my vegetables.
I do the same thing with rotten or vegetables that fallen off the plants as I do with weeds.

How do you avoid/remove weeds in an organic way?

I do not weed myself; I let the worms do it (further explanation above).

How do you battle with mildew, caterpillars and snails?

Mildew: remove the sick leaves of the plant and if you lay straw and grass on top of the soil you have less chance of getting mildew as mildew is a fungus that comes out of the ground.

Caterpillars: it is very difficult to battle caterpillars. You can cut a round piece of cardboard and lay it around the stem of the plants so the butterflies are not able to lay eggs at the beginning of the stem. You can also use nets to avoid butterflies laying eggs at the beginning of the stem.

Snails: lay ferns around the plant to avoid snails eating your plants. Snails don’t like to crawl over ferns. Furthermore, rain is very good for the ferns as the ferns get more active during/after rain.

Do you think more people should begin their own vegetable garden? Why?

Yes, to make the food industry less powerful as there is a lot of demand for bad food.

Which vegetables are the easiest to grow?

Holland: lettuce, potatoes, onions and parsley.

Southern France: tomatoes and cucumbers.

Why do you grow some of the vegetables in the greenhouse and the others outside the greenhouse?

Because in the summer the nights are colder and the days shorter, therefore, in a greenhouse I am able to grow summer vegetables earlier in the year than without a greenhouse.

Why do you have marigolds in your greenhouse?

Marigolds attracts micro insects that fight against other insects.

Notes from the garden

He releases ladybug grubs into his garden to fight against lice because ladybugs eat lice
He uses nets with large holes to help the plants growing upwards
He uses rope to let the plants grow vertically
He uses wooden planks that you can stand on between the plants so you do not stand on the straw, weeds and vegetables that have fallen off the plants.
If he does not know the answer to a problem he is facing he searches on the internet for a solution
Next to the greenhouse there is a beehive to pollenate the plants.